For more than a century, local thespians associated with the Outdoor Forest Theatre in Carmel have been aiming for the stars. This year will be no different.

The Forest Theatre Guild opens its 2013 season this week on the outdoor stage under the stars, lining up two very different live experiences of drama, each the epitome of classic in their genre.

The magic kicks off Friday with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" as adapted from the Grimm fairy tale by Jessie Braham White.

Summer season sees the rebirth of the Films in the Forest series as well, playing at 8:30p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays through July.

Rounding out the FTG summer is Shakespeare's "Hamlet," with the lead role played by John Barrymore III — grandson to John Barrymore, who was made famous by the same role. The third generation Barrymore himself will co-direct the play, which opens June 27.

Meanwhile, back in the land of the evil queen...

A couple years after the outdoor stage in Carmel began, "Snow White" first opened in New York: October of 1912.

Though you may be tempted to protest, to call warnings to the stage, Snow White (Kelsey Posey/ Alexandra Roden), will be cast out into the forest, meet the seven dwarfs and indeed eat the poison apple brought to her because the evil queen (Erin Carey) is jealous of her beauty.

But have faith, as her enchanted sleep will, as you might have suspected, be broken by the handsome prince (David Naar).

While FTG is very pleased to bring you the classic story, there is certainly some updating that's gone on in the last 100 years.

Luke Ahearn is the artist responsible for the queen's throne and her mirror, the latter having gone through a transformation from a hand-held piece to a magical installation on an 8-foot by 6-foot slab of rolling wall that delivers its messages via a talking mask.

Wound in thorns, the mirror is ringed with the skulls of past kings. As the artist points out, this version is somewhat darker than Disney.

"I grew up in New Orleans with the spectacle of Mardi Gras, and I was always interested in art," Ahearn said of his beginnings.

He spent years building a computer game company in an attempt to do something "serious." "I was absolutely miserable," he said. "I hated it."

When his wife pushed him to go make art as a hobby, what appeared was a life-sized skeleton in detailed, hand-made pirate garb. "'Pirates of the Caribbean' came out when I was about 10 years old and that kind of ignited me. It got stuck in my heart creatively," Ahearn said.

When he put the piece up on Ebay, it sparked a bidding war, finally selling for $800. It became his ticket back into the art world.

About 75 percent of the overall "Snow White" set is designed with reused materials. It appears the other 25 percent is engineered out of joy and imagination.

"I use all my skills, but now I'm actually happy," said the artist, who leaves the doors of his Sand City studio open, always interested in conversation with passersby.

"It's so much fun to do this show," said set designer Nicole Bryant Stephens, "because it's all really magical. Nothing has to be a square box."

Stephens gets to ask herself how the dwarfs might build something. Things can be askew; the windows can be framed in branches.

The designer is a former Disney "imagineer" who revamped Tarzan's treehouse and worked on Hong Kong's Fantasyland. Now her talents and those of her family are lent to Carmel's outdoor stage.

Her husband Michael Stephens is house manager for the show and her three kids, ages 7, 8 and 18 months, are in the production.

Set designer Becky Fulmer's two children are also on stage — 7-year-old Will is the dwarf Quee, and 4-year-old Evelyn will play the bluebird.

The dwarfs will be wearing real moss beards made from moss collected off the trees surrounding the theater. It was an idea hatched and executed with input from the full team of four costumers, said Fulmer.

"We definitely have tried to make it feel as much a part of the forest as possible this year," Stephens said. "We're in nature's place and it's much more appropriate to honor our surroundings rather than try to hide them."

"It's my favorite thing."

While he's built his share of zombies, Ahearn says that one of his passions is being involved with projects "that make kids feel happy and adventurous, not scared."

·Tickets: $25 general admission; $20 seniors; $17 children, teachers, military; kids under 4 free. Available online at foresttheaterguild.org or at the box office one hour before the show. Special "Princess Party Package" for 10-15 children $250, includes a private backstage party with crowns, wands, cupcakes and a photo with our cast of "Snow White" plus front row seats for group at the 2p.m. matinee on Saturdays or Sundays. (Party reservations 419-0917.)